


And so it Shatters

by scyler23



Series: Bound Dragons [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/F, M/M, ancient dragons, ancient powers, like i said confusing, premature death/resurection, sorta - Freeform, the Astrals bugger up, things get a little confusing for some people, why are wayverns and thing but dragons arent, wild misuse of magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-15 00:09:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14779893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scyler23/pseuds/scyler23
Summary: Bound dragons; rare humans who have the ability to transform into powerful half dragons. They are born when a human with an important role in the world dies prematurely and are brought back by the merging of their soul with that of a dragon. Masters of crystal magics they hold one crystal above all others, their Dragon’s Glass. Anyone who possesses this crystal o even a shard of it can summon the dragon to them. They are indiscernible from regular humans. There is one well known truth about them though, unbroken throughout the ages of time: the dragon always fades. What happens, then, when this one unbroken rule is finally shattered?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I know some of you saw the other thing I've updated recently and I am still working on them, this has just been floating around in my head for a really long time. I finally got around to watching the Kingsglaive movie and got more than a little upset with what happened with Nyx. I kinda fell in love with the little shit and so this is my way of fixing it! YAY! Anyway I really hope you guys like this!

Regis looked at the man standing before him. Nyx Ulric, Galahdian refugee, member of the Kingsglaive, often called Hero by the rest of the glaive. The man was a gifted soldier and highly gifted with his borrowed magic. Despite his minor attitude problems there have been no real problems with anything the man has ever done for Lucis and Insomnia. Rubbing his chin in thought the king looked down slightly. He agreed with the man about one thing, something needed to be done even if it all turns out to be nothing but a ruse. There was an uncomfortable feeling in the back of the aging king’s mind though, the feeling that something was very wrong with the whole situation. Looking back up at the glaive he spoke.

 

“I will dispatch the glaive to deal with this but something about this sits wrong. There is something not right here and I do not like it,” Regis said slowly, dropping his hand back onto the arm of his throne.

 

“Your Majesty, we have to do something! I’m getting a bad feeling about this too but we still have to do something!” Nyx pressed taking a half step forward before stopping as the king raised a hand.

 

“I never said that we would do nothing about this, Sir Ulric. I simply want to get someone else’s opinion on the situation before I potentially send all of you into a trap,” Regis said bringing his raised hand to his neck.

 

Nyx just looked at him dumbfounded for a moment before speaking again, “Sir! WE don’t have time to call a council meeting about this to get s second opinion! You are due at the signing ceremony and those ship keep getting closer to the city as we speak!”

 

“I never said I wanted to get an opinion from my council members,” the king replied, giving something beneath the collar of his suit a squeeze. “Besides, almost all of the councilors are already heading for the signing room.”

 

Nyx stared, wondering just who in the hell the king wanted a second opinion from when suddenly a pillar of black fire erupted from the second dais before the throne. The glaive staggered back a step from the heat alone, arms coming up to protect his face. When the heat died down and he was finally able to look back toward the throne his eyes widened. There, standing in the middle of the room, was a creature. A being he had only seen glimpses of in the halls at the king’s side. Massive black dragon wings fanned slowly out as the being stretched and rolled its shoulders, it’s long tail trailing slowly across the ground with the motion. As the wings refolded the being spoke.

 

“You called, Majesty?”

 

“I did, Shadow,” the king nodded before gesturing to Nyx (who was still staring at the being in dumbfounded awe) behind the being. “Sir Ulric has brought some rather troubling news on this much anticipated and joyous day. I would like your opinion on it.”

 

With that the being turned toward the glaive, silver eyes glinting, “I see. What do you have for us today, Sir Ulric?”

 

It took Nyx an embarrassingly long moment to find his voice again and he cleared his throat before speaking, “Six Niflheim dreadnaughts have been spotted just outside of Insomnia’s defensive perimeter and closing quickly. All of the delegates from Niflheim are already present in the city so why would these six ships be headed our direction? Also, it seems that as soon as these ships appeared Lady Lunafreya and Captain Drautos have gone missing. I fear that these two events ae connected somehow. I have requested that His Majesty deploy the glaive to check out this anomaly.”

 

Shadow bought one clawed hand to his chin in thought. Something was going on here, something bad. That much was painfully obvious. Deploying the glaive might solve the problem, but there was something else to consider as well. What if the ships were a trap, a trap meant to draw the strongest of Lucis’ defenders outside the Wall? Sure, The Crownsguard was good, but the Kingsglaive were the kingdom’s elite fighting force. If this was a trap it would cripple the city’s defenses immeasurably. Silver eyes flicked from Nyx to the king. Both watched him with rapt attention, both waiting to hear what he said.

 

“Something about this reeks of foul play,” Shadow began turning to the king. “There is definitely something wrong here, something I think I might have a solution for. If you’re willing to let me take a few liberties, Majesty.”

 

“If you think that it will help us deal with this situation to the fullest, I don’t see why not. You’re dragon’s intuition has always been right. I trust you, Shadow,” Regis replied with a soft smile at the being.

 

Turning back to Nyx Shadow waved the man closer. Understandably the glaive was hesitant to trust the being but after getting a slow nod from the king he stepped up to the being’s side. Shadow turned to the man beside him and raised his long-clawed fingers to the sides of the taller man’s head. Not anticipating the action Nyx jerked back away from the other. Silver eyes blinked at the reaction, even as his fingers curled back into his hands. A soft chuckle from the king drew both of their eyes.

 

“Shadow, perhaps you should explain things out loud before simply doing. Not everyone has the same connection we do. It might save you some trouble later on,” Regis chuckled watching the pair in front of him.

 

“Ah, right…” Shadow mumbled, looking rather embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Sir Ulric. I’m more used to His Majesty just understanding what I’m going to do before I do it that I forgot most people aren’t like that.”

 

“It’s… alright. I just wasn’t’ expecting you to try and grab my face. That’s all,” Nyx shrugged forcing himself to stand close to the being again. “Usually when people start reaching for my face it’s because they are trying to punch my teeth in.”

 

That earned a startled laugh from Shadow before he spoke again, “Well, then let’s see if I can’t avoid that this time, shall we? What I’m going to do is give you something called the Blessing of the Guardian. It is a powerful Dragon Crystal Magic that allows anyone who has it to access the power of the Crystal Guardian. The Crystal Guardian is the person who protects the most powerful crystal in existence. At this point the most powerful crystal happens to be the Crystal of Lucis. I know, I know you already have access to the Power of Kings but this will allow you even better control, as if the power was your own. It also will be active so long as I live.

 

“Now, I can also give it to people who you trust and whom the Crystal deems trustworthy. The only problem is that I will have to do it through you and that is going to hurt. A lot. It hurts because I’m literally piggy backing off your soul to access the souls of those you trust. It’s a lot like getting stabbed in the stomach only the knife is on fire and being twisted like a drill bit. I can do nothing about it and for that I am sorry.”

 

“Will it keep them safe after the fact?” Nyx asked slowly, thinking of Libertus.

 

“It will, yes. As for who all will get the Blessing, I have no idea. The Crystal will take who you trust into account but ultimately all or none of the people you trust could receive it. It’s up to the Crystal to make the final choice. After all those with the Blessing become Protectors of the Crystal, working alongside the Guardian to keep it safe. If the Crystal feels like any chosen people could turn on its other protectors it won’t allow the Blessing,” Shadow replied looking long and hard at the man, “Are you still up for the task?”

 

Nyx watched Shadow for a few moments before looking back at the king. Regis just gestured at him with an open hand, a clear sign of ‘the choice is yours to make not mine’. Turning back to the dragon Nyx took a deep breath and nodded slowly. He knew there was no going back after this but this was something that needed doing, especially if something went awry with the mission. Shadow nodded and reached out once again.

 

“Again, I am very sorry for the pain this will cause you. I wish I could do something to prevent or lessen it,” Shadow whispered, hands settling on the glaive’s cheeks as his fingers wrapped around the back of Nyx’s head.

 

“Just try to make it quick, alright?” Nyx breathed, not really trusting his voice not to crack at the feeling of claws on the back of his head.

 

Shadow nodded and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, the dragon opened them once more only for them to start glowing a blinding white. Nyx manages to maintain eye contact for a few moments before the glow his him closing his own burning eyes. At the broken contact the glaive feels something practically burning its way into his very soul. Gasping sharply, he found his hands flying up to grab the dragon’s wrists tightly. The burning lasts for a few more moments before it feels like someone took a shotgun to the side of his head and everything goes completely black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG!!! What the hell? Two chapters in two days?! Something must be wrong! ... 
> 
> No, I just have had this whole thing rolling around in my head for about a month now and I'm just now getting it down on paper. Most of this stuff has happened already in my head so it's just a matter of actually getting it it down and edited the way it should be. So here we go, without further adue, here is chapter two.

When everything came back it wasn’t subtle. It all came rushing back in at once. Blue eyes flew open as Nyx gasped and arched off the floor, unseeing for the first few moments. The first thing his eyes registered was the large black, vaguely humanoid, shape looming over him. As everything came back into focused he recognized the shape and Shadow's head. The dragon was looking up at something in front of them but looked down when Nyx shifted slightly.

 

“There he is. Welcome back Nyx,” Shadow murmured, keeping his voice low as if he knew the man's ears were ringing.

 

“Wha-?” Nyx mumbled, trying to get his tongue to work right, “How-?”

 

“You blacked out, Nyx,” that was the king speaking, the familiarity of the glaive's given name helping to draw him back.   

 

Looking over at the aging king Nyx found that the man's face was a mask of worry, Clarus looking slightly more composed but still worried behind him. Tilting his head back slowly the glaive’s found that his head was resting in the black dragon's lap. Somehow, probably when he blacked out, he had collapsed into the other. Lifting a shaking hand he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. String fingers rubbed gently at his temples. Nyx sighed softly even as he felt the slight prick of claws. Shadow said nothing until the other man dropped his hand.

 

“You were only out for a few moments, so don’t worry too much, alright?” the dragon said, still rubbing the glaive's temples.

 

Nodding slowly the man moved to sit up, Shadow shifting with him. Once he was on his feet again Nyx rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. The dragon stepped closer to the king. Silver eyes watched both men closely, as though he was afraid one or both would suddenly disappear on him. Rolling his shoulders one more time Nyx turned to the dragon.

 

“Is there another part to your plan other than just giving me this Blessing?” he asked.

 

“Yes. Most of the glaive will check out the ships but two or three need to remain here to watch the Citadel and the Crystal. Who do you trust more than anyone to do that?” Shadow replied folding his arms across his chest.

 

Nyx thought for a moment before a dark look crossed his face, “There are three but of the first two one is dead and the other is AWOL. The third, I don’t really know how well he'll take all of this.”

 

“Who?” Shadow asked again.

 

“Pelna Khara is the one I’m not too sure of. As for the other two Libertus Ostium went AWOL after Crowe Altius, the third, was found dead. I don’t know what you plan on doing with all of that though,” Nyx replied, the dark look intensifying when he mentioned his adopted(ish) sisters death.

 

“Hmmm…” Shadow touched his chin and looked at the floor. “How long has Crowe been dead?”

 

“Dude? Really? We just found that out this morning? What does that matter? She's gone and there’s nothing to be done about it!” Nyx growl starting to rethink his opinion if the dragon.

 

Shadow held up his hands in a placating gesture, “Easy. I’m asking because if it was longer than a day or so there would be nothing that I can do.”

 

“Do? What the hell do you mean by that?” Nyx demanded sharply, brows knitting together in frustration.

 

“Bring me to her body and I’ll show you,” was all the being said.

 

Glancing at the king and getting a nod of approval the group left the throne room, headed for the morgue. It was a quiet walk, silent save for the gentle taping of the king's cane. Nyx shoved open the door roughly when they arrived, letting it swing back and almost hit the dragon in the face. Shadow said nothing about it, though, choosing instead to look around the room. Nyx gestured a hand to the black body bag still on the table. The corner still had not yet had time to move his friend's body elsewhere. Shadow ignored the glaive's glare as he moved to the table. Shifting the body slightly the dragon jumped up to sit on the table, unzipping the bag once he was settled. Nyx had to look away at that point. He hadn’t seen the actual would the killed his adoptive sister until now and it wasn’t pretty.

 

Shadow hissed softly, one claws hand hovering over the length of her body. Reaching back toward her face the dragon leaned in close. He pressed his forehead to hers even as his eyes started glowing like stars once again. After a few seconds one hand came away, glowing brightly before bursting into flame. The flaming claw settled itself right onto the gapping wound in the woman’s chest. Flames licked out from around Shadow's hand, reaching for the sky and delving down into Crowe's body. Nyx started to step forward and the flames spread wildly throughout the woman’s body. He was only stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder. Turning sharply he opened his mouth to chew out whoever was stopping him when he saw that it was Regis. The monarch just shook his head before speaking softly.

 

“Don’t. He knows full well what he’s doing,” Regis murmured, looking over at the being. “Though I have only ever seen him do it on smaller beings he knows what’s he’s doing.”

 

Nyx wanted nothing more than to tell the king off and tell the dragon to leave his sister alone but before he could say anything there was a soft rumbling sound. The glaive turned sharply to look back at the other two. By now Crowe was glowing from the fire Shadow seemed to have pushed under her skin. The dragon still had his forehead pressed to hers and the rumbling sound was coming from him. Whatever was happening was making the being growl. Nyx swallowed and stepped back, Regis releasing him as he did. After a few more minutes of hearing Shadow growl seemingly at nothing he suddenly lifted his head and the hand on Crowe’s chest. Blue eyes widened to see that the gaping wound in the woman’s chest was gone, there was barely even a scar to suggest that she had been blown apart. Shadow growled one final time before placing both hands on either side of the woman’s face.

 

Giving her face a squeeze he whispered two words, barely audible to the rest of the room, “Wake up…”

 

For a moment nothing happened as he removed his hands. Then, with a breathless scream, Crowe’s eyes flew open as her body arched off the table. Nyx was at her side as her body went limp even as Shadow slid back to stand beside Regis. Carefully grabbing the younger’s face Nyx placed one hand against the middle of her chest as she gasped. One shaking hand came up to grab at his forearm as she finally managed to fix dark eyes on him.

 

“N-nyx?” her voice was cracked and rough, whether from being dead or the resurrection Nyx had no clue he was just happy to hear her speak again.

 

“I’m here, Crowe, I’m here,” he whispered, not caring about how he sounded or that there were tears streaming down his face.

 

Crowe gasped like a landed fish for a few more moments before she spoke again, “What happened? Where am I? I know I got shot, what happened?”

 

“You’re back at the Citadel, you never made it to Tenebrae,” Nyx whispered, one thumb running mindlessly over her cheek, “You were shot and killed just outside the city.”

 

“I… I died? But… how? How are we even having this conversation if I died?” Crowe gave Nyx a wide eyed look that he found he rather didn’t like on her.

 

"You can thank him for that,” Nyx replied looking over at Shadow.

 

Crowe followed the older man’s gaze, eyes getting a little bigger when they rested on the dragon. She focused on hims for a afew seconds, taking in the large wings, the sweeping tail and the distinctly behemoth like horns. Nxy new the exact moment she registered the king’s presence because she tried to sit up. Unfortunately, her legs got tangled in the body bag she was still laying in. Her forward momentum combined with getting caught sent her sprawling into Nyx. Both crashed to the floor, Nyx not having expected her sudden weight. Clawed, black hands entered their field of vision a few second late. Crowe hesitated for a few second before taking the dragon’s hand, Nyx catching the other after a few seconds. Shadow pulled both of them to their feet. He stayed close as Crowe stumbled again but said nothing. Regis watched with a soft smile on his face. Clarus stepped up behind him, resting one hand on his firend’s shoulder.

 

“Majesty, we need to head to the signing. We are late as is,” he murmured, trying to not break up the happy moment between the two glaives.

 

“I know, Clarus, I know,” Regis replied just as soft. “Sir Ulric, Lady Altius, Shadow I truly hate to be the bearer of bad news but we must move forward.”

 

“Shit,” Nyx swore softly before turning to Crowe, “He’s right we have something to do. Crowe, are you with me?”

 

“Always, you idiot, always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Crowe's back! Yay! Anyway please stay tuned for chapter three! Please leave comments and kudos! they feed my soul ( you guys have no idea how happy I was to already have one comment and two bookmarks OMg guys!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! Here it is! chapter 3! Yay! Also, once again my poor time management strikes again. Two chapters in two days to one a few days after the first. Oh, the horror! A sporadic updater! *gasps dramatically* Yeah well, you all knew that about me going into this. :D Don't get mad, just be patient. Anyway, chapter 4 is in the works, no idea on a completion date so just stay tuned!

After getting an affirmation from the woman Nyx and Shadow were quick to fill her in on everything and get her a uniform. She swore colorfully when Nyx explained that the only reason they knew any of this was because he had given Lunafreya the bugged tiara Crowe had been assigned to deliver. They found Pelna shortly after that and filled him in as well, Shadow sticking to the back of the conversation. Needless to say the man was a little disappointed to miss out on the action but was glad that Nyx trusted him enough to leave him to protect the Crystal. With Crowe giving a cheeky salute she dragged Pelna off to the Crystal chamber, leaving Nyx and Shadow alone.

 

Taking a deep breath the glaive’s turned to the dragon, “Thank you.”

 

“For what?” Shadow replied, one brow ridge arching slightly.

 

“For giving me back my adopted sister,” Nyx said, a faint smile on his face.

 

Shadow merely shrugged, “You needed her around. It was the least I could do.”

 

“In any case, I owe you more than I could ever repay,” the glaive’s said holding out a hand, “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Shadow smiled shaking the others hand.

 

As he let go he held out his hand plan up. Nyx gave him a questioning look to which the dragon just wiggled his fingers. The glaive’s was still confused so with a sigh the dragon tapped at the side of his head, miming turning on an ear piece. Realization dawned on the dark haired man and he fished his phone out of his pocket. Handing it over to the dragon he watched as the male typed in a phone number, a vaguely sad look on his face. Handing it back the dragon tapped at the screen.

 

“When you make it out of the city, you and the others with the Blessing, call that number. The person on the other end will be able to help you all figure out what to do next,” Shadow said as he stepped back.

 

“Where are you going?” Nyx questioned as flames started forming around the dragon’s paws.

 

“To the king! I have a feeling he might need me around for a bit longer!”

 

Nyx had to shield his eyes once again as the dragon vanished in a wall of flame. There was probably no way for than man  to avoid a dramatic entrance or exit. Thankfully he didn’t leave giant scorch marks behind. That would have been a nightmare for the cleaning staff to deal with. Shaking his head he pocketed his phone and called for the rest of the glaive to meet him at the appointed coordinates. It was time to face the music and see just what the Nifs were planning.

 

**-Time Skip The Next Morning-**

 

It took Nyx hours to drag his battered body out of the ruined city. Everything had gone horribly, impossibly wrong. The king was dead, the Crystal was missing and Nyx had no idea if Luna made it out of the city with the Ring or not. Pulling himself up on to the side of a collapsed building he stared blankly at the destruction around him. The center of the city was in ruins; buildings toppled and collapsed, roadways destroyed, bodies (human, demon and MT alike) were everywhere.  He didn’t know how long he sat there, staring into space, but it wasn’t until his left arm twitched that he moved again. Looking down at the damaged limb he watched with wide eyes as silver scars faded back to his natural skin tone. Lifting the limb he saw that, as the marks faded, there was a brief blue-green glow. Almost like a healing spell. Shaking his head sharply as if to clear it Nyx stood and began heading for the city gate.

 

It took him a good couple of hours to get there. The sun was low in the sky and he could see the faint darkening of the horizon. Gritting his teeth the man prepared to walk across the bridge into the coming darkness when a voice called out to him. Jerking sharply Nyx recognized the voice as Libertus. Looking around he saw his best friend stepping out from beneath some rubble just up ahead. Not caring about his still aching body Nyx broke into a run, his only concern being his best friend. They practically crashed into each other. Libertus just barely managed to keep them from ending up on the ground by what seemed like sheer force of will. They clung to each other for a few minutes before quiet laughter had them separating. Lunafreya stepped out of the same rubble shelter Libertus had come from, one hand covering her mouth.

 

“Princess!” Nyx gasped, still holding on the Libertus with one hand.

 

“Hello, Sir Ulric,” Luna said still smiling softly as she stepped closer. “Its good to see you alive and well. I had feared the worst.”

 

“Sorry to disappoint, Princess. You’re stuck with me for a little bit longer,” Nyx smiled. “Though I do find myself wondering just what are you doing still inside the city? I thought you were going to make your way out.”

 

Luna frowned at the sarcasm, “I was until something told me to wait. I don’t really know what it was but something, something old and powerful, told me to wait. It wasn’t one of the Six, I know their voices well.”

 

That got concerned looks from both glaives. Libertus stepped up, gently placing on hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry, Lady Lunafreya. I’m sure that whatever it was wasn’t a bad thing. Besides, if we hadn’t waited we wouldn’t have found Nyx again.”

 

Luna smiled in agreement but Nyx could see that she was still worried about whatever it was that spoke to her. Setting one hand softly on her other shoulder he made the suggestion that they get out of the city before the Nifs came back searching for survivors. The other two agreed and they set out. Startlingly there were still civilians streaming out of the city. That gave the trip plenty of cover to get out of the city unnoticed, even with Luna and Libertus distinct faces and the Kingsglaive insignia emblazoned across Nyx's back. Once they were across the bridge, past the Nif's checkpoint and far enough down the road that they wouldn’t be considered suspicious Nyx pulled third little group to a stop. Libertus looked like he would rather push on toward Hammerhead but Nyx insisted. It was only KY after Luna also requested that they stop for a it that he relented. The Oracle flopped almost gracelessly onto a nearby rock, pulling her heals off and rubbing her aching feet as she did.

 

“Sorry, Lady Luna. We just can’t afford to be stopped the Nifs, not now.,” Libertus apologized scratching the back of his head.

 

Luna looked up at the man with a smile, “I understand, Sir Ostium. When we arrive in Hammerhead, though I will need to a quite better traveling clothes. I will also need to contact someone when we get there as well.”

 

At her words Nyx suddenly shot to his feet, patting at his destroyed jacket, “Dude what the hell is wrong with you?”

 

“I need to find my phone. I just hope it wasn’t destroyed,” Nyx replied, still searching before finally finding stuff small device. “Yes! Thank Six!”

 

Nyx clicked the power button and the screen flickered to life, only to flash the low battery icon and power down once more. Groaning the glaive collapsed back onto his rock. Pressing the device against his forehead he swore softly in Galahdian. Libertus chuckled and patted his shoulder. Nyx just glared at his best friend until he produced his own phone's charging cable. He kept up the glare for a few seconds before finally giving in a holding out his hand. Luna laughed as the other glaive pressed the cord into his hands. They tested for about an hour, during which time Nyx told Luna and Libertus about Shadow's request to call a specific number after making it out of the city. He also told them about how there would be other glaives that survived the Fall, one who were still loyal to the crown. Libertus looked doubtful while Lunafreya actually looked rather hopeful. The only thing Nyx didn’t explain was what Shadow really was and how the would really know just who was still loyal.

 

He felt bad about keeping Crowe's resurrection a secret but he knew it was for the best. It would only end badly if he tried to tell him now. Seeing her, hearing her speak that’s the only thing that would convince him. Taking a deep breath he rubbed his thumb across his phone screen. Hopefully, whoever Shadow wanted him to call was willing to wait a day or so more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it. Don't worry about how I glossed over pretty much the whole of the movie. there will be a side story or bonus chapter involving all of it. Don't fret you pretty little heads about it. Anyway, you lot know the drill; comment, kudos and bookmark! It does wonders for my muse and soul!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Chapter 4! Here's where things start getting good and we start getting into the big plot! Also, we finally get Noctis! Or so you all think... *conspiratorial look* Anyway, enjoy!

“Gods! I am so tired I am never getting out of this booth again!”

 

Nyx chuckled at his fried, sparing him half a glance and shaking his head. He had finally managed to find an available plug to charge his phone. Glancing around he spotted Luna talking to the blind mechanic, Cindy. The two were leaning against the counter talking quietly. The Oracle was smiling softly at the other woman as she talked about how she had gotten into being the grease monkey that she was. Nyx shook his head slowly, still remembering the way Luna blushed when Cindy complimented her when they arrived. Admittedly, none of them looked very presentable when they arrived but that did nothing from stopping the blind mechanic from complimenting the princess. Luna of course played it off with a gentle laugh, but there was a light flush to her face that had nothing to do with the heat.

 

Shifting back to lean against the window Nyx propped his feat up on the rest of the booth with a sigh. They had walked for hours just to get to Hammerhead and his feet were definitely protesting. True, Luna had cast some healing magic on him right before they left but his body was still aching from the force of the magic he had wielded. Cracking his knuckles, he looked down at his borrowed boots. Somehow the had managed to beg some clothes off of Cid and Cindy. It did come as a bit if a surprise to find that he had some old clothes from Regis, Clarus and Cor rolling around the garage, but considering that they used to be traveling buddies it made some sense. Bonus points for it all being casual clothes. Nyx did feel a little awkward wearing Regis's old clothes. They were a little fancy for his tastes, even for causal clothes. Libertus, on the other hand, looked rather funny wearing Clarus's things. The glaive was a little more round in the belly than the former Shield and younger Clarus apparently had a thing for formfitting shirts.

 

As if feeling the other’s eyes on him Libertus lifted his head to glare at this friend, “What’s your problem, hero?”

 

“No problem, just thinking about how we need to get some clothes that better suit us later,” Nyx replied with a smile.

 

“Whatever, man. I’m just glad we made it here and that Cid was willing to let us borrow these things in the first place,” Libertus sighed as he dropped his head to rest on the top of the booth again.

 

“Same here, Libs, same here,” the other replied as he picked up his phone.

 

It finally had enough charge for him to finally make the phone call. Shifting to sit upright he lightly kicked his best friend in the shin. Libertus lifted his head and glared. Nyx just held up his phone and gestured outside, shooting a look at the Oracle as he did. Libertus waved him off with a wave. Smirking Nyx groaned softly as he slid out of the booth. His movement drew the eyes of the blondes by the counter. He just waved his phone at them with a smile. Luna nodded at him and drew Cindy back into a conversation. Shaking his head slowly at the two women he stepped outside. Dropping himself into one of the chairs in front of the caravan he pulled up the number.

 

Something about it struck him as familiar. He knew he had seen the number before, in his contacts list no less. For the life of him though, he couldn’t remember just who it belonged to. Shrugging the thought away he pushed the green call button. Lifting the small device to his ear he listened to it ring for a few seconds before a soft click signaled that the call connected. Nyx opened his mouth to greet the other person when an unmistakably familiar voice spoke first.

 

“Hello? Nyx is that you?”

 

Nyx was frozen for a few seconds as the voice registered and realization dawned. The voice on the other end of the phone was none other than Noctis Lucis Caelum, Crown Prince of Lucis. That was why the number had looked familiar! When he’d been helping the prince train the two had become something like friends and had exchanged numbers. Unfortunately, shortly before the prince left for Altissia, they had had a fight. A bad one. One so bad that Nyx, in a fit of anger, tired to erase all his former interactions with the prince. He even deleted the prince’s contact information from his phone.

 

Noctis spoke again, snapping Nyx from his daze, anger in his voice, “Look, if this is some kind joke it’s in bad taste and I’m hanging up now.”

 

“Wait!” Nyx cried lurching to his feet almost immediately regretting it as he groaned and dropped back into the chair. “Highness… Noct… Shit, I’m sorry. I just…”

 

“Nyx? Are you alright? What happened?” Noctis asked, the anger replace by concern.

 

The man took a deep breath before he replied, “I’ve… been better. I’ll say that much.”

 

“What happened?” the question came out sounding like more of a command than a request.

 

“I might have done something stupid that almost got me killed and might have done more harm than good,” Nyx replied with a chuckle. “I also wasn’t really expecting it to me you that I’d be calling.”

 

“Didn’t expect it to be me, did you? I thought you would have recognized my number even after deleting it from your phone,” Noct snarked back, voice teasing.

 

“Yeah… Wait, how did you know I deleted your number? I never said that,” the glaive sat up, leaning his elbows on his knees.

 

Noctis didn’t speak for a few seconds and when he did it was with a shaky breath, “Ok, let me explain a few things first. Don’t interrupt, just listen and let me finish, alright?”

 

Nyx pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment as he considered. Lifting it back to his ear he gave an affirmative hum. The prince sighed again and was quiet. It was a few seconds before he finally started and when he did Nyx could feel his brain trying to process everything. Apparently, the dragon, the inhuman being Regis had summoned by a small crystal shard around his neck, was actually the prince. Noctis explained that he was something called a Bound Dragon. He told him that he had always been such a being and that the king had been fully aware of. That his son wasn’t even human. Noctis then went on to explain that his being a Bound Dragon was not common knowledge, hence Regis calling him “Shadow” when he summoned him.

 

“Now it makes sense,” Nyx murmured slowly looking at the ground.

 

“What makes sense?” Noctis asked and Nyx wasn’t even surprised that the prince heard him.

 

Chuckling softly and leaning back into his chair the glaive replied, “The look you gave my phone when you put your number in it, again. You looked so disappointed. I thought I was imagining things, honestly. And why you called my name when I woke up after your Blessing thing.”

 

“R-right...” the prince trailed off and Nyx could just imagine the slight flush to the other’s face. “did it help you?”

 

“Maybe? I’m not… sure… Hold on, that’s what they meant!” Nyx trailed off as he sat up again.

 

“What? That’s what who meant?” Noct asked, sounding rather concerned.

 

“Just something your ancestors said to me is all,” Nyx replied dismissively.

 

Noctis was quiet for a few second before he burst out, “What do you mean something my ancestors said?!”

 

Nyx flinched at the volume even as he pulled the phone from his ear, “Damn you sure have a set of pipes, little star.”

 

“What do you mean by something my ancestors said?” Noctis asked again, either ignoring or not hearing the nickname.

 

“I may have put on the Ring to save Libertus and Lunafreya. I also may have taunted your ancestors into helping me kick Drautos’s ass,” Nyx replied, voice light.

 

“We need to talk face to face and you are going to explain everything,” the prince ordered softly. “Contact the rest of the surviving glaive and get them to meet you wherever you are. The guys and I will find our way there as well and we can talk.”

 

“We’re in Hammerhead so it won’t be that hard for us all to meet up. Also, Luna seems to be rather taken with the lady mechanic here. They haven’t stopped talking since we arrived,” Nyx informed pushing himself out of the chair.

 

“Luna’s with you? Really? That’s amazing. I was worried that we’d have to track her down,” Noctis sounded relieved to hear about his childhood friend. “If Cindy’s getting attached to Luna its gonna break Prom’s heart but I think he can handle it. We’ll see you guys soon alright. Hang tight.”

 

“Will do, little prince, will do. Drive safe,” Nyx replied.

 

“Ignis always drives safe, don’t worry about that one,” Noctis said with a smile. “Just make sure to have the others there as well and try not to get into any trouble with Cid, alright?”

 

“No promises,” Nyx teased.

 

Noctis laughed and the two said goodbye. After ending the call Nyx went into his contacts and let his thumb hover over Crowe’s name. If anyone could use the Dragon magic gifted to them with the Blessing to figure out who had it and survived, it would be her. If she survived the shit storm that just blew through Lucis, that is. Taking a deep breath, he hit the call button and waited for it to connect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, would you look at that! You all see what I did there? Huh? Huh? Anyway, as I promised the next big thing will be the Fall and it will be a separate little thing. Stay tuned for that, why don't you? Anyway, please leave comments, give kudos, and make a bookmark! It does wonders for my soul and my muse!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I'm not dead! I've just been stupid busy with work and doing Camp NaNoWriMo. It's been fun to work on that, I have to say. Its jsut a bunch of short stories this month. Away for me to get all my little plot bunnies out of my head. Come tomorrow I'll be posting some if not all of them here so stay tuned for that. Anyway, enjoy this chapter amd sorry it took so long to get it to you.

It took a few minutes and calling twice more for Crowe to finally pick up her phone. As it was Nyx felt like he was about ready to get up and start pacing it took so long. When the woman finally picked up Nyx almost yelled at her for taking so long. He only stopped because Crowe yelled something at someone on her end of the phone. It almost sounded like she was trying to encourage someone. Nyx waited, pressing the phone to his ear as he rubbed at his left arm. Feeling had finally returned to the limb by the time they had reached Hammerhead but he could still see some faint scaring left behind by the raw power that went coursing through him. He was amazed that it was only minimal damage left behind along with his not being dead. though, that last one was far more noteworthy than anything. 

 

“Hello? Hero? What’s going on?” Crowe’s voice filtered through his thoughts and Nyx shook his head. 

 

“Sorry, Crowe. Lost in my own head for a bit,” he replied quickly flexing his fingers and dropping his hand. “I was calling to check in with you, mostly to see if you made it out and to talk.”

 

“Of course I made it out, you idiot. Pelna’s with me and so are a few other glaives,” Crowe said and Nyx could almost hear the smile he knew was on her face. 

 

“That’s great news, Crowe. I’m glad to hear that. Now, I need a favor and you are the only one I know who could hope to pull this one off. think you’re up to it?” Nyx smiled leaning back in his chair.

 

The woman snorted before replying, “Of course I’m up to it. It involves magic right? That's why you need me to do it?” 

 

“You guessed it, sister. First I need you to try and access a bit of magic to try and figure out just who all survived the Fall,” Nyx said scratching at his right arm absently. “Second I need to contact all of them and tell them to head for Hammerhead. Someone important it coming to meet us.” 

 

“Ok, sure I can do that. What kind of magic am I using? It's gotta be something complex, or there probably wouldn't be survivors,” Crowe mused and Nyx could almost see her rubbing her chin in thought. “What kind of magic are we talking here, Ulric?”

 

Nyx didn't answer for a few seconds because the absent minded scratching of his arm had turned into full on “it itches, it itches something fierce” scratching. Growling softly, missing the shape inhale from the other end of the phone at the sound, he yanked up the sleeve of his borrowed shirt. At first it just seemed like an irritating itch. Then, as he was about to roll his sleeve down again, something  _ shimmered _ on his forearm. Blue eyes narrowed on the space before widening to almost comical levels. As he watched the shimmer changed and took on an actual shape. An elegant metallic dragon appeared on his arm. The color shifted from black to while and back again as he moved his arm. He just stared at it, watching the change, until a soft call of his name brought his attention back to his phone. 

 

“Sorry, Crowe. I got... Distracted,” he mumbled still looking at the mark. “What did you say?” 

 

“I asked what kind of magic I should use to try and find everyone . Dude, what's go you so distracted?’ the woman asked voice soft. 

 

“Check your arm, the dominant one. Has it been itching or burning since yesterday?” Nyx asked finally dropping his arm and allowing his sleeve to cover the mark once more. 

 

Crowe didn't say anything for a few seconds. When she did, it was with an accusatory tone. The older man was quick to deny fault. With a soft growl of her own the mage demanded a proper explanation. Nyx tried to explain to the best of his abilities. All he really knew about it was that it was connected to the Blessing of the Guardian, given to members of the glaive through him before the Fall. He tells her that it would have had something to do with glaives of an undetermined number surviving everything. It might have even allowed them to continue using their abilities and powers. Though, that last one might have been a fluke, he wasn't sure. 

 

“Dude, does this have anything to do with Shadow resurrecting me?” Crowe asked voice hushed. 

 

“I have no idea, Crowe. I had the magic, he called the the Blessing of the Guardian, before that. So I don’t think so. What I do think is it will be why so many glaives would have survived the Fall. We just need to find them and get them all to Hammerhead,” Nyx said shifting in his chair. “Once everyone who has the mark is here someone will be explaining everything to us. That I can promise you. Can you use it to find every one?” 

 

Crowe was silent for a few seconds before she finally replied, “I should be able to track the magic, see where it’s been, where it's going and probably get a read on who has it. I can’t make any promises yet, but I will try.” 

 

“That’s all I’m asking of you, sister,”Nyx smiled as he sat back in the chiar some more. “Say hi it Pelna for me, will you?”

 

“Consider it done, hero. Now, get back to Libs and wait there for me, ok? I’ll find you guys soon enough,” Crowe didn’t even wait for his response before hanging up. 

 

Nyx shook his head as he slipped his phone back into one of his pockets. LEaning his head back he sighed softly. The aceing in his whole body had gotten a bit better but he knew getting up was going to hurt. After a few deep breaths he was finally able to haul himself out of the plastic chair and head back into the diner. Libertus was exactly where he left him only now there was food covering the table. Lunafreya was sitting there as well with Cindy. The pair was still talking while Libertus was messing around with his phone. Limping over to the table Nyx lightly kicked his friend’s boots, a silent request to draw up. Groaning the larger man swung his feet off the booth seat, allowing Nyx to slide into the seat. 

 

“Phone call go alright?” he asked, not looking up from his own phone. 

 

“Yeah. We should be getting company and some answers soon,” Nyx replied softly. 

 

Libertus grunted in acknowledgement and Nyx was about to grab some food when he saw the women gazing at him, “Everything alright, ladies?”

 

“Yes, Sir Ulric. Everything is fine,” Luna said, her musical voice soft. “I was just wondering who all was going to be joining us.” 

 

“Would you be mad if I said to wait and see?” he said a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

 

Luna rolled her eyes while Libertus snorted. They stayed there like that for a few minutes before Cindy had to head back to the garage. Luna watched her go with a wistful look that did not go unnoticed by the two men with her. Needless to say Nyx, feeling bold, teased her about her not so subtle crush on the other woman. Flushing bright red Lunafreya stammered and stuttered while the two men laughed at her.

 

They talked for a little longer before the door chimed and more people walked in. It was only a couple people but they looked more than a little ragged than the usual partrons. Libertus looked like he was about to jump out of his seat at the wight of them. They were all wearing heavily damaged glaive uniforms, some of which looked like they’d been set on fire while others were cut to ribbons. As soon as they spotted Libertus and Nyx they made a beeline for their table. Nyx quickly shifted places with Luna and they scooted a little farther in to allow the others to join them. 

 

“Holy hell, how did you guys escape? The whole city was in an uproar after everything,” Libertus asked as soon as they were settled. 

 

“To be honest, sir, we don’t have a single clue. Everyone went on the mission to check out the Dreadnaughts sighed near the city. AFter that all hell broke loose. Tredd, Sonitus and quite a few others turned on us,” one of the girls, Jenica, said shaking her head slowly. “We don’t know how we survived.”

 

“Did anyone else come with you guys?” Nyx asked carefully. 

 

“No, we just got a phone call from... someone... telling us to come to Hammerhead,” Jenica replied. looking away slightly. 

 

Nyx nodded, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure anyone else who survived will be making their way here.” 

 

The others nodded slowly. They all sat there for a moment before Taka walked over with several plates. There was a mad scramble to first try and find out where the food came from (no one ordered anything) and then where to put it when the cook  said it was on the house. Everyone waited just long enough for him to disappear back into the kitchen before digging in. Even Luna was quick to dive right into the food. By the time the door swung open again as the sky was fading to a deep purple color the plates had been all but licked clean. 

 

“Damn, I leave you idiots alone for few hours and you totally corrupt royalty. How?” Crowe’s voice washed over the group that was slowly descending into a food coma. 

 

Libertus leaped to his feet eyes wide. Crowe stood in the doorway with one hand on her hip and her signature cocky half smirk on her face. Everyone was quick to get out of the larger man’s way as he scrambled out of the booth. He barely managed to stop his forward momentum before crashing into the woman. she just raised on eyebrow and held out her arms. With a sound akin to a wounded dog Libertus wrapped her up in a bone crushing hug. Crowe responded in kind to the cheers of the other glaives. A few had known of Crowe’s untimely demise, but only in rumors. Nyx hid a smile in his cup as he looked away from them. A soft nudge to his ribs had him looking at Lunafreya. 

 

“You knew about this, didn’t you?” she asked gently, voice soft. 

 

Nyx nodded before replying, “I did. I was there when Shadow resurrected her.”

 

“I see...” Luna murmured looking down. “I suppose I can thank her for trying to get me out of Tenebrae afterall.” 

 

Nyx looked at her wide eyes for a moment before laughing softly, “I suppose you can.” 

 

The pair turned back to the rest of the group to find every one staring at them. Crowe and Libertus were standing side by side, arms around each other. Libertus wasn’t going to let her out of his sight for a while yet and Crowe was more than OK with that. It took an embarrassingly long second for Nyx to realize everyone was staring at him. Coughing slightly to get over the surprise he looked at all of them.

 

“What’s up?” he asked setting his cup back on the table. 

 

“We were gonna ask you the same question, Nyx. You’re the big man in charge now,” Crowe shrugged. “What do we do now?” 

 

Nyx looked down at the table for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before looking back up, “We wait. For now that is. Someone is on their way to meet us to explain everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always please leave comments and kudos! They feed my soul.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I'm not dead! Just been stupid busy. Work has been kicking my butt, not to mention all the little short things that I've expanded into major works now. OMG! The insanity! BTW, I will be participating in NaNoWriMo this year so if things drop off even further next month that's why. Anyway enjoy! I'll try to get the last bit of The Fall out soon too. So stay tuned!

The glaives managed to rent both the caravan and beg some sleeping space off of Cid and Cindy while they waited. There was no way the person coming to meet them could have gotten there before nightfall anyway. Everyone needed to sleep some time. While they waited Nyx and Libertus were able got get what little information they could out of the other glaives about the Fall. There wasn’t a whole lot that they didn’t already know, though. Crowe did report that Shadow, who’d been sent by the king to help guard the Crystal, had transformed into the massive black dragon Nyx and Luna had seen going after the Crystal. She unfortunately couldn’t confirm whether his actions prevented the loss of the Crystal or not.  

 

“Damn... it would have been good to know if we still had the Crystal. Then we might actually have more than a little bit of good news,” Nyx sighed shaking his head slightly. 

 

“Well, I think we have quite a bit of good news to share,” Libertus said shifting in the hard plastic chair of the caravan. “We managed to get both Lady Luna and the Ring out of the city unnoticed and unharmed. how could any of that be bad news?”

 

The others were quick to agree with the large man. In this case any kind of good news was going to be welcome news.  there was no denying that. Staying up later to talk anymore seemed counterproductive with how bone tired everyone was so with a few quick good nights the glaives dispersed to their sleeping areas. Hopefully things would look better for them all in the morning, especially with someone there to explain. 

 

Nyx was just about to his space in Cid’s garage when Luna called out to him, “Nyx!” 

 

Spinning on his heel he turned to face the blond princess, “Yes, Princess?” 

 

“I believe this is yours,” she said with a smile, holding out one hand. 

 

Nyx just blinked at her for a second before holding out his own hand. At the cool touch of metal and the soft pulse of power the glaive looked down, surprised. It was the crystal shard Regis had given him, the one that could apparently summon the prince from anywhere. He’d forgotten that he’d given it to Luna in case something happened to him after his fight with Drautos. Fingers curling loosely around the little thing he smiled at the Oracle. Luna just smiled back and bid him good night. Smiling Nyx slipped the chain over his head before heading off to bed himself. 

 

-Next Day-

 

Everyone was up and moving the next day right as a very familiar car pulled into the Hammerhead parking lot. The Regalia’s sleek from had barely come to a stop before one of the back doors was flying open, allowing the prince to come tumbling out. He barely hit the ground before he was up and moving again. Luna stepped quickly out from behind Libertus and called out to the dark haired prince. Noctis practically warped to the blonde, throwing his arms around her neck as soon as she was within arms reach.  The rest of the prince’s retinue stepped slowly out of the car. They were all clearly wary of the glaives standing around the two royals. 

 

“Dear Noctis I am so happy to see you. Are you alright?” Luna asked, finally able to pull back from the veritable bear hug the other hand her in. 

 

“Am I alright? I should be asking you that, Luna. After all you did just escape the city while it was being attacked. Who the hell did you make it out of there without even a scratch?” Noctis asked carefully holding the woman by the shoulders as he looked her over carefully. 

 

“It was a combination effort of Sir Ulric and Sir Ostium. They both managed to keep me safe despite everything going on in the city at the time," Luna replied with a smile and a soft gesture at the two glaives. 

 

Libertus blushed slightly at the praise while Nyx just looked down and smiled. Noctis pulled away from his childhood friend to step toward both of them. Slowly,  as if he was waiting for one or both to back away he pulled both of them carefully into a hug. Both men just stared wide eyed over the prince's shoulders before hugging him back tentatively. It was clear that he was more than a little emotionally overcome by everything and found comfort in the contact. They stayed like that until a soft clearing of the throat had Noctis pulling away from them. The prince's adviser stood off to the side of the little group, on hand in front of his mouth. Noctis gave him a nod as he rubbed the heel of one hand over his eyes. 

 

"Anyway, I'm here for a reason, and it's not just to see Luna," Noctis said raising his voice to address all of the glaives present. " We might have to move out into the wilds a bit to make all of this make sense to you. Are you all up for that?" 

 

"After what we just went through, your highness, I think we can handle just about anything," One of the glaives said folding his arms across his chest. 

 

"Good" Noctis nodded before heading toward the edge of the concrete pad the outpost was built on. 

 

Everyone followed the prince without complaint. Admittedly they were a little confused but they decided not to voice their confusion. He already said he was going to explain everything. That was more than enough for them right then and there. 

 

Once they were far enough from the outpost Noctis turned to them, "So what do you all know about what happened in Insomnia?" 

 

"What we know is that Niflheim used the peace treaty as  an excuse to get into the city to kill his Majesty and steal the Crystal. We can't be entirely sure if they succeeded in the stealing the crystal endeavor before of the massive black dragon that followed it out of the Citadel. We do know that King Regis is no longer  with us and for that we offer you our condolences, your Highness," Jennica said bowing her head along with the rest of the glaives. 

 

Noctis nodded his thanks for  the gesture before rolling his shoulders slightly, "Thank you. Is there anything else?" 

 

"I know about a being by the name of Shadow who gave those of us here a power. He called it "The Blessing of the Guardian". It's something like the king's magic, at least from what I remember about what he told me it is," Nyx said folding his arms across his chest with a shrug. "I also know that it manifested in a  shimmering dragon tattoo on our dominant arms." 

 

The others murmured their assent of that last bit of information and the prince nodded slowly. Nyx already knew what the young man was going to say. It was definitely going to be much less of a shock to him than it was to the others. Before he could even brace himself for the potential fallout black fire swirled up from around the prince's boots. Silvery- blue eyes widened almost comically at the sight. He wasn't even going to ease them into it! He was just going to transform and show off that the wasn't even human right off the bat! Sure it would make everything more believable but still! That was just a tad bit much. Especially considering that he did have a bit of a demonic look to him. 

 

Flames swirled and writhed as they slowly crept up his legs. By now everyone was starting to notice and was more than a little concerned. The only thing stopping them was the calm look on the royal's face. It also didn't help that his three friends were just as calm as he was. When the flames reached his knees they expanded out into circle before all but flying above his head. Noctis was encased in a pillar of black flame for a seconds before something pushed them out from the inside. Massive wings snapped out, destroying the shape of the flames. Once destroyed the flames just fell away like dying embers, leaving behind the changed prince. 

 

"I know this may come as a shock to all of you but that dragon you saw, that was me. I am the being called Shadow that gave you all the Blessing," Noctis said, sharp fangs flashing as he spoke. "I also happen to be completely in human."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments, kudos and/or bookmarks! They feed my soul!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I know it's been a hot minute since the last time I posted anything and for that I apologize. I know that this won't make up for the really sporadic updates, but I also never promised a real schedule. Now with this chapter we start getting into a major point and I know you are all going to hate me for the end, but chapter 8 is in the works. I just don't know when it will be finished. We also get a little tiny bit of cuteness from Nyx and Noct. Enjoy!

It took almost a week for the glaives to stop reaching for a weapon every time Noctis did something distinctly inhuman. After showing off the fact that he could transform into a  dragon, Lunafreya took it the best and Noctis was grateful for that. She was able to work to smooth things over with the rest of the group. Nyx, having already known about this, also was able to help keep the rest of the group from attacking the prince every night when he came back to their camp site looking like this things they usually hunted. 

 

Tonight was no exception, only this time everyone was more on edge than usual. Noctis had left the group shortly after dark just to go tear something apart. No one had the guts to tell him to stay close. They had just heard about the blockades keeping them from Lestalum and the prince was more than a little pissed about it all. 

 

It was nearing midnight when a clawed hand appeared at the edge of the Haven, claws digging harshly into the stone. Everyone was on their feet with weapons drawn before they were able to process that it was just the prince in his half dragon form.  Nyx was quick to wave the others off, realizing that the prince was still very upset . Walking slowly over while being very aware of just how the prince was capable of tearing him apart with very little effort. 

 

As it was the royal was more than a little agitated. His tail kept flashing back and forth like an angry cat’s. It would have been adorable if not for the spikes that tipped the frighteningly strong appendage. Nyx could still remember seeing Noctis catch a Saber Tusk in the side with it. The beast had let out a choked off yelp before it was slammed into a cliff face. Needles to say the impact with the rocks was what killed it. 

 

Right now the  prince looked like the first person to even look at him the wrong way was going to meet the same fate. His eyes flashed dangerously in the light of the old runes and the campfire behind them. large talons dug deep into the old stone as Noctis tried to haul himself onto the Haven with just his upper body strength. Nyx took a deep breath before daring the step closer to the irate royal. 

 

“Are you alright, your highness?” he asked slowly as he helped the reptilian man pull himself the rest of the way onto the Haven. 

 

“I am very much not alright,” Noctis growled darkly, jerking his wrist from the older man’s hold. “I just realized that the Empire has something they never should have gotten their hands  on.”

 

“What would that be?” Nyx asked, voice soft as he quietly checked his hand for claw marks. “Beside the Crystal, that is?” 

 

Noctis glared at him, golden eyes flashing dangerously, “They have my Shard! That is something no one should have ever been allowed to get their hands on! With that Shard they can call me from anywhere! It wouldn’t be impossible for them got get a hold of me anywhere on Eos! This is a major problem!”

 

“Your Shard?” Nyx had a sinking suspicion that he knew exactly what the other was talking about. “What does it look like?” 

 

“What does it look like?! What does that matter? If the Empire has it there is no way that the description is going to help us in any way! Why the hell would you ask such a question?” Noctis snarled golden eyes flashing dangerously even as he flashed his taloned fingers.

 

“Humor me, please,” the glaive said with a shrug, hands in his coat pockets. 

 

Letting out an irritated huff the prince obliged, folding his arms across his chest, “Its a small crystal sliver, no bigger than my thumb, in a silver wire cage on a silver chain. Are you happy now?” 

 

Nyx didn’t say a word. He just lifted a hand and pulled something out from under his jacket. Golden eyes went huge at the long silver chain that he produced. Once the crystal shard came free of the other man’s shirt Noctis stepped forward on shaky feet. Trembling clawed hands lifted to carefully catch the caged shard, golden eyes flashing between the man wearing it and the shard itself.  Slowly the claws and scales receded, leaving the shaking human prince standing before him. Nyx said nothing, just reached out with his free hand to catch the smaller man’s waist. Noctis leaned into the contact before taking a deep breath. 

 

“Where...?” he started only to cut himself off sharply before trying again. “Where did you get this?”

 

Nyx gave him a soft look before responding, “Right before Glauca got to us King Regis gave this to me after giving Lady Luna the Ring. He said it was for safe keeping. At first I had no idea why he was giving it to me, but considering what I know now I think I understand.”

 

Noctis just looked at him for a moment before shifting to lean against the taller man, still holding the shard in one hand. Nyx shifted his grip to accommodate having more of the royal pressed against him. Silvery-blue eyes watched the prince as he gazed down at the little shard. Letting out a soft sigh Noctis dropped the shard and straightened. Nyx was a little reluctant to let him go and it seemed that they royal was feeling the same. The prince stayed close, Nyx’s arm around his waist. 

 

“Thank you Nyx,” Noctis murmured, eyes still on the shard. 

 

“What for?” the glaive asked slowly, not wanting to risk the other man’s ire. 

 

Blue eyes finally lifted away from the necklace to catch silvery blue, “For everything.”

 

Not knowing how to respond Nyx just nodded slowly. That seemed to be enough for the royal as he shifted to lean fully against the glaive once more. Nyx wanted to ask about the shard but worried that it would upset the royal. Keeping him happy and calm was the name of the game right now. IF just standing here quietly was what Noctis needed than Nyx was happy to stay right where he was. 

 

-with the others- 

 

“Everything alright?” Ignis asked as Jennica and Dahlia walked back fully into the fire light. 

 

“Yes, sir, everything is fine. His Highness had returned,” Dahlia smiled as she settled beside one of the camp chairs. 

 

“He’s just not in the best of moods right now, is all. Nyx is with him though,” Jennica added as she dropped into the chair. 

 

“That man does seem to have a calming effect on his Highness. I hope that he can keep the damage down to a minimum,” Ignis said looking the direction the two glaives had come from. 

 

Everyone else’s eyes turned to see the barely visible silhouettes of Nyx and the prince. They could barely make out when the prince went from angry lizard man back to the human they were all more comfortable with. Just the sight of the royal back in his human form made the tension fade out. Needless to say they had heard everything and had honestly expected more shouting. Hell, most of them were still reeling from having watched the prince change into what they would have classified as a demon right before their eyes. 

 

_ -One week ago- _

 

_ As soon as the prince finished speaking at least one of the glaives screamed absolute bloody murder. Noctis flinched at the sound, ears pinning back against his skull. Several others jumped while the rest just stared at him. If Noctis was going to be honest with himself this was a better reaction than what he was expecting. He was more than expecting just about every single glaive to draw weapons on him. This was far more mild a reaction than he could have ever hoped to receive.  _

 

_ “Ow...” he mumbled as the scream faded out, rubbing at one of his ears. _

 

_ The glaive who screamed flinched before their knees gave out on them, dropping them to the ground, “I am sorry... I just ... we’ve all...” _

 

_ “We’ve all been through a lot and just changing like that probably wasn’t the best idea,” Nyx said carefully. _

 

_ Noctis scratched at the back of his head and looked to the side for a moment before speaking softly, “I’m sorry, too. I really should have said something before changing like that. I just know that you would have had a hard time believing me if I just told you what was going on. There was probably a better way of doing this, but my brain is a little fried right now and I’m more than a little pissed...” _

 

_ “Being pissed with something we all can understand, sir,” Libertus growled arms folded across his chest and a dark look on his face.  _

 

_ Noctis shook his head sharply folding his own arms, “Please don’t call me sir. You can call me anything else, but please don’t call me sir.” _

 

_ That had all the glaives just looking at the royal in surprise. As far as they knew the prince was a stuck up little brat who got everything he ever wanted just because he was the prince. they had never heard of him not wanting to acknowledge his titles. This was a new thing for them but Nyx smoothed everything over by laughing lightly. _

 

_ “As you wish, Noctis,” he said with smile, earning a shy smile back from the royal.  _

 

_ “Now that we have that cleared, why don’t you explain, Noctis?” Luna asked gently, hesitantly placing her hand on the dragon’s shoulder.  _

 

_ Noctis took a deep break before looking at all of them, “Explaining things might not make this any easier but I hope that some things will be made clear by this.”  _

 

-Present-

 

After the prince had explained that he wasn’t actually the prince that just caused more confusion among the glaives. They were still all trying to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately they had all been interrupted by a Nif dropship unloading it’s MTs on their heads. The conversation had been all but forgotten up until now. Some were still hoping for a proper explanation from the royal but most weren’t optimistic. Before anyone could start worrying about the pair at the edge of the haven both of them appeared in the firelight. 

 

“Everything OK?” Gladiolus asked looking up from where he was helping Prompto set up an extra tent they had bought off Cid. 

 

“Yep, everything is just fine,” Noctis smiled back as he settled into one of the camp chairs, Nyx rolling his eyes and settling on the ground beside him. 

 

Ignis looked over at them from where he’d set up the camp kitchen and frowned, “ARe you sure? You were quite upset when you left us.” 

 

“Positive, Iggy. Turns out Nyx is more of a hero that I was giving him credit for,” the royal smiled as he set on hand on the glaive’s shoulder. 

 

“I didn’t do anything all that special. If anyone is the real hero I would say it was Lady Luna on this one,” Nyx shrugged but stayed where he was. 

 

“Me? How am I the hero here?” Luna asked tilting her head to the side a bit. “I don’t remember doing all that much besides running for my life while you and Sir Ostium did all the hard  work.” 

 

Nyx carefully pulled the chain around his neck up to show of the little crystal shard hanging from it, “Remember this, princess? Turns out if your give this thing a good squeeze it will summon Noct right to whoever has it.” 

 

Luna’s eyes widened before they turned to the man sitting above Nyx, “You are a Bound Dragon?” 

 

“You actually know what that is?” Noctis asked, shocked. 

 

“Of course I know what a Bound Dragon is! The Astrals have a large say in who will become a Dragon but none have been called in centuries!” Luna gasped before looking to the side a bit. “Unless they simply chose not to tell me of this...” 

 

Noctis just watched her for a moment before sighing, “They probably assumed you knew already...” 

 

“Why would they assume that though?” the blond asked, brows furrowing even as she gripped her skirt in one white knuckled fist. 

 

“Because I have been like this since birth.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments, kudos and/or bookmarks! They feed my soul!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeyyyy.... sorry I left you all on that little cliff for so long. Here we have the light at the bottom. Hope you all like it.

The absolute silence that greeted that statement had Noctis shifting awkwardly in his seat. Nyx shifted slightly so he could rest his chin on the royal’s knee as he looked up at the younger man. Everyone else just stared at the young man like he had grown a second head. He looked at everyone before looking back at Lunafreya’s stunned face. 

 

“You really had no idea?” he asked slowly. 

 

Luna just shook her head sharply before speaking, “How was I supposed to know? It is not like Bound Dragons are all that common.”

 

“I assumed you knew because you didn’t treat me like I was just eight years old. At least I never got that vibe from you,” Noctis sighed slowly and scrubbed at one eye with the heel of his hand. “Everyone else at Fenestala treated me like I was made of glass and going to shatter apart  any second. IT was never like that with you, so I just assumed you knew.” 

 

“I never knew, exactly, what it was. I did know that something was different about you,” Luna said slowly long finger curling into a tight fist slowly. “It was never quite clear what that difference was though.  I guess this makes sense, though.”

 

“What makes you say that, Lady Luna?” Ignis asked, green eyes flicking back and forth between the two royals. 

 

“Well, whenever he would look at me he... seemed older than eight years old... I can’t quite explain it, but something about the way you used to look at me just felt older,” Luna said first looking at the adviser and then back at Noctis. 

 

Noctis coughed once before taking a deep breath, “That’s probably because I am older than I look...” 

 

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds before Gladio spoke up, “What’s that supposed to mean, Noct?”

 

“Simply put... I’m not actually Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum...”

 

For the third time that night silence reigned before several people started shouting all at once. The volume rose exponentially until Noctis had his hand pressed over his ears. Even in his fully human form the royal didn’t handle incredibly loud sounds too well. Having several people start shouting at him all at once was like having someone start blaring heavy metal music in his ears. Before he could start yelling at everyone to shut the hell up and let him think hands carefully covered his, blocking more of the sound. 

 

Silver tinged blue eyes blinked slowly open to see that Nyx had pulled himself up on his knees in front of the younger man. Giving the smaller man a brief smile the glaive stood and turned to the rest of the group. Noct almost whined when the other man’s hands left the side of his head, allowing more sound to slip past his fingers, but he managed to strangle the sound. It would do little more than earn him strange looks from the people around him. 

 

Between his fingers he could just barely hear Nyx yelling, “Enough, all of you! Shut up and let the man explain!”

 

Several people still tried to get a word in edgewise but Luna stood slowly, garnering everyone’s attention. Carefully the princess walked over to where Noctis was sitting. He still had his hands pressed over his ears but was watching all of this with wide eyes. Dropping to her knees in front of the the prince, after Nyx stepped to the side a bit, she placed her hands over his. Carefully pulling his hands away from his ears she smiled softly. 

 

“You still cannot handle people yelling, can you?” she murmured softly. 

 

“My hearing is really advanced even in a fully human form like this. It’s just... I’ve always...” Noctis trailed of, giving a half shrug as he looked away. 

 

Luna just nodded before speaking loud enough for everyone to hear, “I believe we should let him explain. It would also prove useful for us to keep the volume down, lest we send him running for the hills.”

 

That, thankfully had everyone sitting down slowly and just watching the pair of royals. Luna gave Noctis a smile before rising to her feet. As she returned to her seat Nyx carefully took her place, casually leaning against the royal’s knee. Noctis took a deep breath before sitting forward slightly, setting on hand briefly on Nyx’s shoulder as he did. 

 

“Alright, there are a few things you need to know about Bound Dragons before I get into my story. First, it is up to the Astrals to decide who gets to become a Bound Dragon. Second, it will only happen if someone dies before they have a chance to complete some great purpose. Third and most important, the actual Dragon part of the Bound Dragon fades and vanishes,” Noctis looked at the whole group as he spoke, eyes flashing silver briefly before returning to blue. “Now, I said I wasn't actually Prince Noctis and that is true. I am actually the dragon the Astrals bound to his soul when he was a baby. Our situation was unlike anything that the Gods could ever predict and I don't even know if they realize that I’m not him. For all I know they think everything happened as it should have, that I faded and Noctis is just really good at connecting to my power. If you didn’t know about this, Luna, then I’m going to assume they think the status quo is in fact normal.”

 

“That would explain a few things...” Luna murmured, putting a finger against her lips before waving her hand for him to continue. 

 

“Alright, so this became a thing when Prince Noctis died as a newborn. It was no ones fault, just an unforeseen complication that lead to him  being unable to breath. It happened faster than anyone could have been able to stop it and the Astrals were scrambling to fix things,” Noctis threaded his fingers together as he rested his elbows on his knees. “Usually a dragon is around the same age as the person who died. Unfortunately, seeing as dragons have been extinct on Eos for centuries, they only had me as the closest in age to the prince. Even then they were off by a couple years. The merging of our souls revived the prince, but left him terribly weak. I had to take the brunt of everything. I knew what was supposed to happen as the years passed but the prince never regained his strength. Instead I got stronger as he started fading. Things came to a head twelve years ago when we were attacked on our way back from Tenebrae.”

 

“We heard about that attack but not much else. All we really knew was that you were injured and that you had to return to Tenebrae because it was closer,” Ignis mumbled rubbing slowly at his chin, green eyes dark. 

 

Noctis nodded before continuing, “The demon that attacked us practically ripped us in half. Noctis and I were both dying, it was inevitable. I still don’t know how he did it, but he made me hold onto part of his soul as he took the brunt of that. The strain was too much for him and it killed him. That separation is the only reason Lucis still has a prince. When he separated our souls I got my full strength back and was able to hold onto our body.”

 

“So... when they said you were found half dead...” Luna whispered eyes wide and glassy, one hand covering her mouth. 

 

“That was more literal than anyone could have even imagined,” Noctis nodded, eyes bleeding fully silver at that point. “The soul of the real prince Noctis passed into the world of the dead, leaving the nameless dragon in his place. Since then things have been different. It’s hard for me to stop myself from doing something that is distinctly not human. I might have a humans body but my mind is that of an animal. A highly intelligent animal, but an animal nonetheless.”

 

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Ignis spoke, “So when you go storming off while your eyes are silver, you’re just running off instinct rather than rational thought?” 

 

Noctis just nodded at him slowly, “It’s an unfortunate side effect, but there’s no real way to stop it. I just have to try and deal with it.” 

 

The others just looked at him with wide eyes. Noctis shifted his weight uncomfortably in the chair for a few seconds. Nyx tilted his head back to look at the royal, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. Thankfully he and Crowe were apparently on the same wavelength and she carefully cleared her throat, grabbing the prince’s attention. 

 

“So, since you aren’t actually the prince is there something you would rather we call you? Or would you rather keep Noctis’s name?” she asked slowly, not totally sure if the question was going to set the other off or not. 

 

“Noctis is fine. It makes things easier than trying to call me something else,” Noctis replied with a smile. “Though if you really feel the need to call me something else you can call me Nox. That one I don’t mind.” 

 

The others just watched him for a few moments, processing. Noctis had just dropped a Dreadnought cannon shell on them, information wise. The simple fact that the prince wasn’t actually the prince, he just happened to look like the him, was mind blowing. It was true that he had done some incredible things over the short time they had all been with him. But the fact that his mind and soul wasn’t even human threw them all for a loop. It was going to take some getting used to, that was for sure. 

 

Nyx jolted suddenly, looking up at the dragon a realization hit him like a brick, “Hey, this is why you got so mad that one time, isn’t it?” 

 

Noctis just looked at him for a few seconds, silver eyes blinking slowly as they faded back to blue, “Yeah, actually. It is.” 

 

The glaive nodded slowly before looking back down at the ground again. He now understood why the royal got so mad when he said that names didn’t seem to have as much meaning as they used to. Not having a name of his own and having to keep using the name of a dead child just so people could talk to him really didn’t sit well with the dragon. The dragon hadn’t been with the prince nearly as long as he would have liked, but he’d still gotten attached to the human. Being forced to use his name just so people wouldn’t get suspicious of him must have hurt like hell.  Reaching back with a hand Nyx gave the youngerma’s knee a gentle squeeze. Noctis smiled down at him before turning back to the rest of the group.

 

“Now you all know what I really am,” he said slowly. “None of you are required to stay and travel with us. Stay if you wish, but if you find traveling with a beast that looks for all intents and purposes human abhorrent you are free to go. I know that the oath of the Kingsglaive doesn’t mean much now that King Regis is dead despite my being the next in line.” 

 

Everyone just stared at him like he had grown a second head before Sadda spoke, “What about this Blessing thing? Doesn't that hold meaning?” 

 

“It does, but you are not obligated to it. Sure, it allows you to tap into the Power of the Kings, but that doesn't mean that you have to take orders from me or fight for me. It just means that, until I die, you all have everything you had as glaives and then some. That's it,” Noctis said quickly, trying not to let his voice crack. 

 

The others just watched him carefully. Though they were all still reeling from the information he'd dropped on them the fact that he was going to trust them running around with the Power of the Kings at their fingertips was a little mind boggling. With that kind of power they could literally do just about anything and he was going to just let them have it. No oath, no contract no nothing. Just them with nearly limitless power. That was quite the daunting thought. 

 

When no one said anything Noctis sighed slowly and stood, shifting so he didn’t knock Nyx over as he did, “I think I’ve dropped enough information on you all right now. I think it might be a good time for me to head to bed. See you all in the morning, maybe.” 

 

With that the dragon headed for one of the tents. When Ignis tried to approach him he just waved the man off with a sad smile. After the tent flap closed behind the royal quiet conversation broke out among the glaives. Luna, Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto just watched, not really understanding what was being said. 

 

“Do you think they will leave him?” Luna asked softly.

 

“Honestly, Princess? I have no idea,” Ignis sight, folding his arms across his chest. 

 

Gladio nodded slowly before chiming in, “He did kinda hand them a loaded gun and say have fun. Being allowed to use the Power of Kings without being bound to a royal is big. They might take it and run.” 

 

“But the fact that they have it means that the Crystal found something good in them, right?” Prompto asked, just a little worried. 

 

“That may be true, but that doesn’t mean that they will want to serve a young king who isn’t even fully human. They may decide that, while  they will stay loyal to Lucis, that they just can’t stand a non human on the throne. You never know,” Ignis said voice tight as he thought about how the glaives leaving might hurt Noctis despite what he said.  

 

“All we can do now then is get some sleep and see who is still here in the morning, yes?” Luna asked turning to the three men.

 

“That would be wise, I think,” Ignis murmured before bowing his head to the blond woman. “Sleep well, Princess.”

 

The four then dispersed into their tents for the night. After a while conversation among the glaives died down and they two headed to bed. Several still remained awake, though. Just because this was a Haven didn’t mean that nothing could get to them at all. Come morning there would be decisions to make about a lot of things. For now, though, it was time to think everything through. Stay with the royal who wasn’t fully human? Or take their chances going against the Empire alone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments, kudos and/or bookmarks! They feed my soul!

**Author's Note:**

> That's it, chapter one of "And so it Shatters". I hope you guys liked it. Please leave comments and kudos, they feed my soul and make me so happy. I'm working on new chapters for other things as well as this one so updates are unfortunately gonna be sporadic (I flip flop between stories when I cant think of what to write). Anyway stay tuned for the next chapter of "And so it Shatters"!


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